Writer's Games Rules
Use the menu below to jump to the selected section of the General Rules. As with any competition, it is recommended that you read the General Rules and Submissions guide in their entirety before registration.
General Rules
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The Writer's Games Official Rules were last updated:
January, 2022
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Writer's Games Official Rules
1. Registration is required in advance for participation in the Writer's Games. Registration periods for each Games portion end prior to the announcement of that portion's Practice Event. Anyone over 13 may register for either or both portions.
a. Events will be available via the Writer's Workout Forum, Writer's Games page, Writer's Workout Page, and emailed by request.
2. Entries must be written during the Event time period and submitted to the judges before the deadline. Events will last 72 hours unless otherwise stated. Events occur in Coordinated Universal Time or UTC.
a. Entries must be submitted by email to submissions@writersworkout.net before Event deadline.
i. You may send your entry as an attachment or upload it to our Dropbox using the app on the Games page. Accepted formats include: .doc, .docx, .odt.
ii. Late entries will not be accepted except under special, predetermined circumstances.
iii. Entries with a timestamp marked before the deadline and received from registered participants are accepted. Entry receipts for Dropbox users appear as an automated popup on the Dropbox page. We will not send individual receipts for Dropbox entries.
iv. Entries are exclusive to The Writer's Games and participants are required to keep entries private for the duration of the portion. Following the winner announcement and conclusion of that portion, entries placing sixth or below in any Event may be used as the author sees fit. The Writer's Workout maintains the rights to winning entries for one year.
b. Entries must be formatted using the Chicago Manual of Style with appropriate Title Information.
i. Failure to include proper Title Information for Writer's Games entries will result in entry disqualification.
1. Title Information will include the following in this order, aligned top left in the body of the document:
Name
Entry Title
Event Name
Word Count
(additional information may be included after the word count as needed)
ii. Entries which do not include proper formatting as specified on the Writer's Games page will result in minor point loss.
c. One entry per Event per person. You may resubmit as a reply to your original submission. Please indicate the new file as "revised" in the file name. Resubmissions are accepted until the deadline.
d. Entries must be in English, complete stories, and original works of fiction.
3. Exceptions will be discussed privately with judges.
4. Poetry and screenplays are accepted for all Events provided Event parameters are met. Failure to meet parameters will lead to rejection.
5. Entries are scored separately by each judge. The judges' scores are averaged to find the entry's Event Score. Event Scores for each participant are added to find that participant's Overall Score. Winner announcements occur at the end of the competition. Please see our How It Works page for details.
a. No person may have access to the score sheet or numerical scores under any circumstances except in the instance of judgement.
6. In the event of a points tie for first place, there will be a Death Match. Rules for the Death Match and judgement thereof will be made public where applicable.
7. Any individual in violation of rules 7.c.-f. will be disqualified from the Games and will be ineligible to compete for the remainder of the portion unless otherwise stated. Entry disqualification does not disqualify a participant from further participation in the portion.
a. Appeals to entry disqualification for concept requirements may be made at any time following feedback the release of Event feedback. To appeal your entry disqualification, please email Theresa.Green@writersworkout.net with your request and appeal.
i. Entry disqualification due to missing or incorrect Title Information cannot be appealed.
b. Persons in violation of rules 7.c-f. will receive an explanation of disqualification via the email address used at registration. If you are unclear on the ruling after having read the explanation, you may request an appeal. Entry disqualification is released via Event feedback and does not prohibit further participation in the portion.
c. No Cheating.
i. Do not submit work that was not written by you alone during the 72-hour time period for that Event.
ii. Do not submit work that you alone did not create, including characters or situations from the Event announcement.
iii. Do not submit work created with discussion or help from outside sources. This competition is designed to test what you alone can achieve given a singular challenge and deadline.
iv. The judges reserve the right to perform random plagiarism checks without cause or notice.
d. No Spamming. Any person found spamming The Writer's Workout, disrespecting others, or otherwise behaving in a generally distasteful manner will be disqualified from Games for the year.
e. No Harassment. There will be no harassment of any kind. Any participant found harassing or bullying others will be disqualified for the year and permanently banned from the Writer's Workout community.
f. No fanfiction. Due to the potential for copyright infringement upon publication, fanfiction of any kind, including the genre known as Real Person Fiction (RPF), is not permitted for any Event.
8. The Writer's Games is an individual competition; entries must be completed solely by the writer alone. Teaming up with another individual for the Individual portion will result in disqualification from the Games for the calendar year. Editors, beta readers, test groups, etc, during any phase of the writing process before submission are not permitted for any reason.
Tip: Try each Event. The goal of the Writer's Games is to help you improve and expand your own personal writing range. This is a fun, fast-paced competition created to push writers toward quick improvement. The Events are designed to be utilized across most genres. If you don't try, you'll never know what you alone can do.
Rules may be subject to change, participants will be notified as needed.
May the words flow to your victory!